Prologue Woods of Murk, Scotland CENTURIES AGO . . . In a dark forest, in a dour land, stood an enchanted cottage. Within it, Uilleam MacRieve was about to bicker with his mate, Lady Ruelle. Yet again. As the blizzard outside gathered its strength, Will sat on the edge of her bed, wearily preparing for battle. "Just once more, my love," Ruelle sighed, letting the silk cover dip to reveal her bare breasts. In the past he'd have stared agog at that generous flesh; now he scowled at her antics. "You know I canna stay." Always with these antics. Could she not tell how deep she'd already drawn from him this eve? " 'Tis hours till dawn." She rose up on her knees to purr at his ear, "I needn't keep you long." Her words were accented with the flavor of distant realms. In these northern lands of the Lykae, Ruelle was a rarity, a foreign female who dressed in lace and silks and had no skill with a sword. She lived alone here in the Woods of Murk-a place of fairy rings and curses, of portals to different planes and creatures of old that even Lykae feared. Only a dare from other boys had coaxed Will's feet into that eerie forest the first time.